Poppies In The Field
Julian Cope - bass, vocals
David Balfe - keyboards
Mick Finkler - guitar
Gary Dwyer - drums
Version two - "Kilimanjaro" album (original issue and second "Zebra cover" issue), recorded Spring 1980, released October 1980, also released on the b-side of "Ha ha I'm drowning", summer 1981
Julian Cope - vocals, bass
David Balfe - organ, piano
Alan Gill - guitar
Gary Dwyer - drums
Written by Cope / Dwyer / Finkler
"Poppies in the field" (sometimes listed as "The poppies in the field" or "Poppies") is the one song on the Teardrop Explodes' debut album which was transformed the most by the replacement of Mick Finkler with Alan Gill.
I have to admit that I've always felt bad for Finkler. He was there from the start of the Teardrops' journey - or before the journey began, as a member of A Shallow Madness - and cowrote all the debut album, and played on most of it too, yet he did not get much credit at the time for his contribution to the band and the album itself - you really have to read the small print to discover which songs he played on. Obviously there must have been ill feeling around Liverpool at the time of his departure, and in "Head On" Cope relates how someone poured a pint of beer over his head in a London club during the summer of 1981 ("Er, I just wanted to know one thing. Was it meant in a heavy way? You know, are you being heavy towards me? I have to ask you 'cause I'm tripping and I don't know you." - "Yeah, well ... You kicked Mick Finkler out of the group, didn't you?"). On the other hand I suppose he still gets PRS cheques every so often.
"Poppies" was introduced into the Teardrops' live set around the same time as "Thief of Baghdad" and the first recorded evidence is the Bristol gig from October 1979. The first studio recording was the April 1980 Peel session and this version of the song feels somehow incomplete. Sure the chords and the lyrics and melody are there but something's missing, in a similar way to "When I dream" from the same session. What may have sounded good on stage wasn't good enough in the studio. Presumably "Poppies" was recorded at the initial Rockfield sessions in March 1980 but it's not clear if new overdubs were made on this in the summer or if the eventual "Kilimanjaro" version is a new recording.
Either way, Alan Gill's guitar playing on "Poppies" is light years ahead of Finkler's and makes for a truly psychedelic experience. Gill was one of the best guitarists in Liverpool at the time, and already had experience working with David Bates and Phonogram with the debut album by Dalek I (aka Dalek I Love You), issued earlier in 1980. DILY were one of the unsung heroes of the late 70s /early 80s Liverpool scene, merging synths, drum machines, backing tapes and psychedelic guitar with perfect pop songs with dark hearts. (For more on DILY, may I recommend my Toppermost post here). By the time Dalek I's debut album "Compass Kumpas" was released in the Spring of 1980, the duo of Dave Hughes and Alan Gill had split up, so with no band to promote it the LP sank without trace. Hughes moved over to OMD and Gill moved over to the Teardrop Explodes, on the insistence of Balfe who had played with him years before in the band Radio Blank.
"Poppies" probably started from Cope's bass line, simple repetitive and enough of a hook on its own. This then implied a simple two chord vamp which would give everyone a chance to improvise a little before the main chorus ("I wait around") arrives. However it's obvious from the first recording of the song - the April Peel session - that Finkler's guitar part doesn't quite fit the bill. This is of course my own conjecture through knowledge of what Gill achieved on the same song. Peel's listeners in 1980 may not agree with me. It's perfect for what it is but it's not what it could be. The "Kilimanjaro" recording is transformed by Gill's guitar, layers of backwards licks fill gaps, his single note playing is perfect for the vocal verses, his descending figure after "I wait around" compliments the song well and works as an extra hook. Ok ok so I sound like an Alan Gill fan boy here. But listen to the two recordings side by side then come back to me.
"Poppies" though isn't just a showcase for Gill. Every band member excels as the song stretches out. Cope has claimed some reggae influence on this song and you can hear it in the spaces and gaps, the well arranged sections, and Dwyer's drums which are exceptional. He keeps the pulse going with the bass drum and hihats, throwing snare rolls and cymbal hits all over the beat - in a way it's reggae at double speed. Cope keeps up with his simple yet insistent bass line, while Gill and Balfe fill the verses' instrumental sections in different ways. While Gill smears psychedelic guitar arcs across the sky, Balfe has his own chance to shine on piano and organ lines which are just as much hooks as anything else in the song. It's truly a group performance, everyone pushing themselves further for the good of the song.
And then there's the vocals. When introducing the song in a live setting Cope said "Poppies" was a sad song about unrequited love and you can almost see this. The words are quite intriguing - are the references to parachutes part of the continuing war and battle theme? Of course there's poppies in the field, again poppies are a symbol of remembrance. But don't ask me what that means. But then there's other verses which seems more specific. Comics insult, apparently, yet comics are all Cope reads. Considering the source of the band's name that's possible, and it sounds like an actual insult aimed at Cope. By his wife? By a friend? As for the change verse, it was written before the biggest change in Cope's demeanour - drugs - but by the time the song was issued this verse must have struck a chord with the singer.
One of the oddities of the Teardrops' TV appearances is that they performed "Poppies" on Swap Shop on the same edition that they performed "When I dream". There's a lot of visual effects and feedback to evoke the psychedelic textures of the song. It's hard to say if the song was edited for TV - the clip that is available on YT has some editing done to it, and I did have the original clip on an old Betamax tape but obviously I can't refer to that. Equally I can't refer to my double pack 7" of "Ha ha I'm drowning" (it disappeared in a house move a few years ago) to find out if there was an edit on "Poppies" to fit it onto the b side of the single. If anyone can confirm this I would be grateful.
"Poppies" stayed in the band's live set from 1979 to the end of the band's life so an avid fan (who - me?) can hear how different versions of the band played it. Obviously the 1979/80 Finkler live versions don't deviate much from the Peel session version. On the autumn 1980 "Daktari" tour, Gill played as much of his recorded guitar parts as possible, while the newly added horns took some instrumental sections. The horns continued into the 1981 version (see above) where Alfie Agius does his new wave bop, Troy Tate plays some cool guitar licks and Jeff Hammer moves effortlessly from electric piano to organ to poly synth. It's interesting that the only lineup which expanded the song in any way was this early 81 band - vamping on an instrumental section after the second chorus to allow Cope to improvise lyrically. However this only happened on the US tour, by the time of the summer UK tour the band played it pretty straight. The Club Zoo version of the band lets Ronnie Francois give the song a little bit of a funk feel while Balfe's Moog and Prophet 5 try to emulate a piano and organ. Unsurprisingly the late 82 three piece line up version is the oddest. Cope strumming the chords on his electric 12 string, Balfe letting a drum machine provide the pulse from a tape with Dwyer playing over the top of it. It's most peculiar and you can almost hear Cope's frustration at what his band has become. "Can you see a change in me?" indeed.
But back in the autumn of 1980 the future looked very different, and "Poppies" was the perfect way to close side one of "Kilimanjaro" - the way the song hangs the last organ chord, Cope's plaintive "wait around" and the final drum beats. It makes the listener want to hear more, flip the LP and find what's next. There's an art to side closers, as there is to side openers, and whoever sequenced the album knew it well. "Poppies" is another deep cut and fan favourite and a great band showcase. What more could you want?
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